I wake up with a start when I feel a searing pain on my neck. It's burning me from inside, making me want to claw the skin out of the place. I groan when the pain increases when I try to move.

My eyes flutter open. My vision is blurry. I blink a couple of times before my vision clears and I find myself in a familiar room. His room.

I sit up weakly before my hand shoots up to the pain in my neck. A gasp leaves my lips as soon as my hand makes contact with the mark on my neck and intense sparks sting my skin.

He marked me!

He marked me without my consent. If I thought that him stealing me and bringing me to his room while I was asleep was humiliating then I was wrong. I feel as if I have been used. He didn't ask me whether I'd like to get marked or not. The mark feels so wrong.

I slowly crawl out of his bed and stand in front of the huge mirror in his room. The mark is deep and dark and it... hurts. He sunk his canines deeper than necessary. Although it has healed on the surface, the wound is fresh and painful inside.

A tear escapes my eyes and trails down my cheek, leaving a wet path behind when I finally recall all the events prior to the marking. I went back and... they're all dead. They're long gone. What's hurting me more is that I didn't get to talk with them properly for the last time. They were my family and now... they're gone.

No one ever told me that time passes very slowly here. I have been gone for merely a week but so many things have happened back there. What breaks my heart the most is that when the new Alpha told me that Phoebe had only one sister. Did they really erase me from the family? When did I stop existing for them? Was I really that big of a disappointment that they didn't care to mention my existence to the coming generation?

A lump is building in my throat. Vesta is watching me silently. She never really had any attachment to my family so it's not affecting her much. She is quite happy to be marked by him unlike me. It feels like he has ripped out a part of me.

I feel hollower than ever. I feel emptier. I feel alone. Everything's slipping off my finger yet I can't do anything. It's getting impossible day by day as he continues to push forward. This is the heavy price that I am paying for being paired to him.

I have been engrossed in my thoughts and staring at my reflecting so long that I failed to notice him entering and standing behind me. His reflection in the mirror is staring back at me. His eyes are pitch black as he looks at the mark on my neck with a possessive glint in his eyes.

I have never felt such a tremendous loathing for anyone as I am feeling it for him right now. His nostrils flare as he steps closer. His eyes are so intense and pensive, they can look through me. My chest is heaving up and down as I watch him carefully, guessing his next move.

Vesta is silent and content inside me. Since her animalistic need to be marked by his wolf is complete, she is quite satisfied yet restless because she wants to mark him back. She wants to complete the bond unlike me. I'd rather break it.

I don't know how long we've been staring at each other. It seems minutes stretched into hours. I swallow hard, trying to press all the overwhelming feelings down.

"I hate you," I mutter. My eyes are red and my voice is a mere whisper yet it sounds stern. An evil look spreads across his face as the intensity of his eyes increases.

"I'll make you hate me more," He speaks lowly. His voice is husky yet powerful. It's capable of melting glass. "Tomorrow is your coronation ceremony. You'll be my queen," A growl escapes my lips at his words. A storm is raging inside me. I want to let it out so that it consumes him and destroys him.

"I'll not be your queen," I growl at him while glaring at this reflection. He watches me silently, his eyes looking deep into my soul, unraveling all my fears and secrets. He steps closer until he's standing very close to me. I could feel his body heat and his hot breath fanning my neck.

"Remember your third task, Nefret. I told you there will be consequences if you fail to complete the tasks. I am a man of my words..." He trails off as one of his hands shoots off to gently touch the mark on my neck. Sparks dance all over my skin as soon as he embraces my skin. A toe-curling feeling makes the butterflies flap their wings angrily in my stomach, "I do what I say," He completes. I feel a shiver run down my spine.

"I am bad. It won't take much for me to turn worse," He whispers lowly in my ear and as he caresses the back of his hand gently against my neck, leaving a trail of sparks behind. I let out a shaky breath as my stomach dips. His words are cold and sharp enough to cut deep. The threat he just gave me is real. He could do anything. He will do anything.

"What will you do? Kill me?" I ask with clenched teeth and see his lips curve into a sly smirk. He takes a strand of my loose hair before playing with it.

"There are things worse than death. If you wish to find out then you're welcome to defy me," He speaks. His threat hanging fresh in the air which I am finding hard to breathe. What did I do to get myself a mate like him?

Later I tried to sneak back into my previous room but found it locked instead. All my stuff has been bought to his room. I am bound to sleep in his room but I can't because it belongs to him. I hate to share a roof with him. The idea creeps me out after he gave me the threats.

Fortunately, he has been missing the whole evening and night, sparing me some time and space to process his words in my head.

I look out of the window into the night. The whole kingdom has drowned in the darkness of night. Nothing is visible except the moon in the sky and the stars that somehow manage to sneak out of the heavy blankets of the clouds.

What do I do? Where do I go? I've never felt so helpless in my life. Why is this happening to me? I can't live like this with this man for my whole life. Being dead seems a better option now but I cannot die in peace. He'll drag me back and feed me to his demons.

I cannot stop crying. I feel so suffocated, so deserted. There's no one by my side, no one has ever been by my side to start with. I've learned to cope with things alone but now things are getting out of my hands. I thought all those cuts and burns that I got from my family and pack were enough to toughen me up but I was wrong. Turns out my mate's words cut deeper than a butcher's knife.

He could eat my heart if he wants and I wouldn't be able to do anything. I am as helpless as a lamb in front of a hungry lion. I sat by the huge window and cried the whole night. I couldn't share the pain with anyone but suppress it deeper and deeper as it continues to eat me up from inside.

~

My eyes look empty and dead as I put my hair into a bun. I am dressed and ready for the coronation ceremony. I don't know what to expect or what to do. Heck, I don't even want to be the queen. I want to run away and hide somewhere he wouldn't be able to find me.

As if listening to my thoughts, he steps inside the room. He's wearing a crown and a long black velvet cloak which makes him look more regal if that was even possible. His eyes fall on me instantly before he nears me. His eyes scan me from head to toe. The intensity and the possessive glint in them sends a shiver down my spine. His lips curl up into a smile when his eyes meet mine in the reflection.

"You look beautiful," He complements me but I don't say anything as I continue to stare back at him emptily. He places his hand at the small of my back before leading me out of his room and wing. He takes me through unfamiliar hallways before we reach a huge door. Two guards open the door to reveal a grand ceremony hall crowded with people and decorated elegantly with the kingdom crest and other things.

I feel hundreds of eyes on me as soon as I step through the door. Arles is accompanying me. His presence calms me down but at the same time makes me want to run for the hills. Everyone stands up and bows as Arles leads me on the huge stage. There are two thrones placed there. A huge statue of the moon goddess looking down at the thrones.

There's a huge pool at the bottom of the stage. It's filled with nectar, topped with flower petals.

All the fourteen ministers and the Royal Advisor are present by the stage. Haestus and Archander follow Arles. They look cold and distant but I didn't miss the amused look in Archander's eyes.

Arles leads me to one of the thrones. He takes his seat after I am seated. Soon, the Head Priest steps in front of us before reciting some auspicious spells and addressing the guests. I zone out as I look at all the guests who have been invited to the ceremony.

Mostly are gods. I am able to distinguish Persephone and Hades by their dark dressing theme. Demeter is lingering at the back who's constantly throwing glares at Hades while he rolls his eyes occasionally.

I don't know why but I fight back a giggle. Zeus is present as well. He is seated in the middle on a high chair. There are others too who look bored by the Head Priest's small lecture.

I was about to yawn but I close my mouth shut instantly. I look at the ministers to find Isidorus and Peniculus trying hard not to laugh. With one glare at them from Arles, they compose a stern look on their face.

After the Head Priest is done speaking, he faces me. Another priest comes to him with a golden book resting on a red velvet cushion in his hands. He takes the book and then looks at me.

"May I?" He asks gently as he bows his heads before me. I nod at him before he gently hands me the book. It's quite heavy.

"Madam, is your Majesty willing to take the Oath?" He asks me and suddenly, my mouth goes dry and my stomach dips. My heart is drumming in my chest. I don't know if I am ready for this. I don't know if I am ready for the responsibilities that come with such tremendous power. Feeling my hesitancy, Vesta surfaces while she pushes me back.

I feel a new found confidence and power filling me up as I sit up straight and tip my chin high. Vesta is taking charge. She is doing what she always wanted to do.

"I am willing,"